FLSmidth has appointed two new leaders to its group executive management: Julian Soles on 1 May for the seat of president of the mining products business line, and Toni Laaksonen, who will join the company in the coming months as president of the mining service business line.
Laaksonen joins FLSmidth from Glaston Corporation, a technology, solutions and service provider for the glass processing industry where he is currently president and CEO. Before joining Glaston, he held several business, sales and service leadership positions with Metso, Outotec, ABB and Posti Group.
Soles is a seasoned leader in operational and technical innovation within the natural resources and heavy industry sectors, with a strong focus on operations, product development, sustainability and safety. Soles has held several senior leadership positions at Transocean and global mining company Anglo American. He was most recently CEO of First Mode.
“We are at a pivotal point in our transformation journey, having spent the past few years defining our core business and strengthening our operations to ensure we can drive more consistent value creation,” said CEO Mikko Keto.
“The appointment of Toni and Julian to our executive management team advances our ambition to shift towards business growth as we look to become an even stronger partner to our customers. Each of them brings an innovative, customer-first approach to leadership and deep expertise in growing and transforming established global companies.”
Once both have joined FLSmidth, group executive management will consist of the following members: Mikko Keto, CEO; Roland Andersen, CFO; Cori Petersen, chief people and sustainability officer; Mikko Tepponen, chief digital officer and chief operations officer; Julian Soles, president, Products Business Line; Toni Laaksonen, president, Service Business Line; Pat Turner, president, Pumps, Cyclones and Valves Business Line; and Christopher Ashworth, president, FLSmidth Cement.
Source: FLSmidth